Tag: Barry Sheerman

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length time taken to reunite stranded minors with their families in the UK once they have been identified in Calais has been in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire

There is no official estimate of the number of children in Calais, this is primarily a matter for the French authorities. It is only possible to assess whether an individual has links to the UK that could enable a transfer on family unity grounds once they make an application for asylum in France.

Once an asylum claim is lodged in France the Dublin Regulation procedure requesting the UK to take charge of a child on family unity grounds takes place very quickly, often in a matter of weeks, subject to consideration of the evidence in each individual case. An average time is not available for each of the last three years.

Since February 2016 the UK has accepted 30 family reunification applications from minors in France of which 23 have already been transferred to the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from academics and health experts on the health benefits and disadvantages of vaping.

Jane Ellison

The Department engages with a wide range of interested parties with views on e-cigarettes and vaping. The Department will continue to listen to all parties to inform our decisions as well as drawing on the reports such E-cigarettes – an evidence update published by Public Health England in 2015.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Attorney General, on how many occasions the Law Officers referred a criminal sentence to the Court for Appeal for review on the grounds that it was unduly harsh in the last 12 months.

Robert Buckland

Whilst the Attorney General’s Office can ask the Court of Appeal to review a sentence which is considered to be unduly lenient, the Law Officers have no power to intervene when a sentence is too harsh. Therefore there have been no referrals to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that a sentence was unduly harsh.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that more nurseries employ qualified early years teachers.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government recognises that graduates are an important part of the early years workforce, and that is why in 2013 we introduced the early years initial teacher training programme which leads to the award of Early Years Teacher Status. We have made a significant investment in this programme by providing funding for course fees and bursaries to eligible trainees, and also funding for employers to support trainees.

The number of graduates in the workforce continues to rise, and between 2008 and 2013 the proportion of full day care staff with a degree or higher increased from 5% to 13%. The Government wants to see more trained graduates in the workforce in the future.

The early years workforce strategy is in development this year and will set out how government will help to remove barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff. It will look at the barriers to growing the body of graduates in the workforce in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans consider the overall health economy of a region including the effect on (a) GPs, (b) hospitals, (c) pharmacies, (d) ambulance services and (e) all other health services.

David Mowat

For their Sustainability and Transformation Plan, local areas, including commissioners, providers and local authorities, have come together to decide how to improve services in the medium and long term. This is a unique exercise in collaboration, with local doctors, hospitals and councils working together to decide the way forward in consultation with local communities. This approach will ensure that all services within a local health economy are considered.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many single parent households there are in the UK.

Chris Skidmore

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to reduce barriers to officers of local authorities reporting bullying and intimidation by those in senior positions within their local authority.

Mr Marcus Jones

Bullying and intimidation are serious matters and all employers, including local authorities, should have in place arrangements to ensure employees can safely report this behaviour, including by those in a senior position.

My Department does not collect information about incidents of bullying or intimidation of local authority staff, nor have we made any assessment of council codes of conduct to protect officers from such behaviour.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on people who receive disability benefits being able to volunteer without it affecting their entitlement to those benefits.

Justin Tomlinson

Claimants of Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment are free to do paid or unpaid work or volunteering without losing entitlement to their benefit, so long as they continue to meet the entitlement conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support services there are for young people who victims of cybercrime.

Mike Penning

The provision of victim care is a matter for the police and police and crime commissioners, who, since April 2015, have the responsibility for commissioning victim service provision. Where a crime has been reported, the Victims Code (October 2015) sets out key entitlements to victims of all crime. Victims under 18 years of age automatically qualify for enhanced entitlements. The service provider must ensure that this information is passed on as necessary to other services providers with responsibilities under the Code and to victim support services where appropriate.

Through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP), Government has also invested over £90m over the last five years to increase law enforcement capability and capacity to respond to cyber criminality. This has included funding for bespoke officers within the Regional Organised Crime Units and the Metropolitan Police Service to deliver protective advice and support to victims and those at risk.

It has also included training for all police officers and staff by the College of Policing, which has specific modules on working with young victims. We will look to build on this work over the next five years, as part of the increased investment of £1.9bn to protect the UK from cyber attack.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications of the cancellation of presidential elections in Haiti.

Mr Hugo Swire

The postponement of the second round of the Presidential elections in Haiti is regrettable and given the uncertainty about what happens once President Martelly’s mandate comes to an end on 7th February. The international community is pressing the Haitian authorities to set a date for the postponed second round of the Presidential elections as soon as possible. Our Embassy in Port-au-Prince continues to monitor the situation closely.

We reiterate our support for the EU Election Observer Mission’s view that the first round of the Presidential elections was credible and that a second round with the top two candidates should have taken place. It is therefore important that all sides work together to agree a date for the second round as soon as possible.